Long story short....like an idiot, I screwed some overly-long screws into the rad of my Corsair H70. That really messed-up some of the rad fins. (Not fixable.)

Other folks have told me it might be okay, as no visible leaking so far. But, it should be tested-- by running the H70 outside the case (so no damage occurs from leaks).

It's a brand new build, nothing really in the case except for mobo & CPU. The H70 is fully mounted, though. I'm a noob at this, and getting the pump mounted was , well, a pain. So, if at all possible, I'd love to test it while pump still attached to the CPU/socket. (Plus, I have no replacement thermal paste, would have to order online.)

To the point, my question is : if I can figure out some way to hang the rad outside the case, but leaving the pump still mounted on the CPU, could I run it for abit to test for leaks without frying the CPU and/or the mobo ? (Can harmful electricity travel through the pump and into the CPU ?) Does it matter if the power for this test comes from another computer running beside it ?

I am tempted to remove it, toss it in the garbage, call it an expensive lesson, and buy another H70 or Antec Kuhler 920 and do it right ( without sleep depravation,).

Am I being really crazy to think of testing it this way ? I sure don't want to fry the 2600k because of a dumbass installation..... but I am really concerned about leaks showing up when the rad is running.

Help ? (Keep the insults to a minimum...if you please. Trust me, I feel like a tool !)

You can leave the rad unmounted and your CPU will still be fine so long as the pump is still securely connected to the CPU. I'm running a setup just like that on my test bench with an H50. The rad and fan is propped up by some books to allow airflow, but it's not mounted to anything.

If it was anything but watercooling I'd say go for it, but when it comes to expensive hardware I never take any chances.

Even if it ends up not leaking, or it hasn't been leaking so far, that might not stop it from leaking tomorrow, or the next day, or next year. You'll never know, really. In my personal opinion, it's not worth it. You made an honest mistake and instead of saying "Screw it" and leaving it in there, you're having second thoughts.

My best advice is to give Corsair a call, tell them the truth, and maybe they'll send you a brand new one for a slight cost, or maybe even for free depending on what kind of representative you get.

Quote:

Originally Posted by r31ncarnat3d

You can leave the rad unmounted and your CPU will still be fine so long as the pump is still securely connected to the CPU. I'm running a setup just like that on my test bench with an H50. The rad and fan is propped up by some books to allow airflow, but it's not mounted to anything.

If the CPU gets too hot it will shut down from the high temp before its damaged if I'm not mistaken. All the CPUs nowadays detect when temps are too high and will shut the PC down, unless you have changed some temp settings in BIOS or something.

Just 1 point to clarify, my new system has NOTHING in it but the case, mobo, CPU, and H70. Nothing else. It can't be run to test. (Don't even have some parts yets...GPU,RAM....)

I was hoping to run nothing except the H70 pump....... not the CPU, it's just stuck onto it. Powered externally, of course, like a spare molex from another computer beside it.

Does that change any suggestions ?

I'd still vote for an out of case, test bench setup.

This is the benchtop setup I'm using right now (new parts for a friend, wanted me to OC for him). This is before the book setup propping up the rad, but the basics of it is I use two textbooks, one on either side of the rad, to prop up the radiator and allow for airflow. I put the fan underneath blowing up, so cool air from underneath the radiator is blown up through the rad, cooling it.

If I'm right, the setup should still power on without the RAM or GPU, but obviously you will not get to POST and you won't have any display. However, since you're just looking to test for leaks, the setup should still power on everything including your H70. I'd just pull a PSU from your spare rig to do this test, turn on your motherboard by shorting the Power headers on your motherboard, and let it run for a while.

Running it in this setup I feel is best, because even if there is a leak in your rad, gravity won't cause the liquid to drop down onto your parts. At the very worst, you'd just have a puddle on your desk.